Chapter 3

Info

• page: 277-290
• place: a cell in "the Ministry of Love" (p. 241, l. 2 f.)
• time: a few more weeks
• people: Winston, O'Brien

Content

• After Winston has been able to recover somewhat from the rigours of his ordeal, O'Brien begins to brainwash him with the inculcation of party vocabulary
• Power, for example, means never-ending strength, which is best achieved as a collective. To maintain collective power, it is important that each individual understands and internalises the principles of the party
• Although Winston has already become much weaker, he is not yet fully purified. Another part of the brainwashing involves O'Brien playing him recordings as a prisoner in the "Ministry of Love" (p. 241, l. 2 f.), in which he barely recognises himself
• Winston is so ashamed of the sight of himself that he begins to believe that the party might be right after all

Chapter 4

Info

• page: 291-299
• place: a cell in "the Ministry of Love" (p. 241, l. 2 f.)
• time: an undefined period of several days
• people: Winston, O'Brien

Content

• Winston feels a little more comfortable in the new cell than in the previous one. Winston's physical well-being is taken care of in the form of body care and hygiene
• However, torture does not stop completely - even if it is far more subtle than before. Winston receives full meals several times a day, but he still has to sleep "with a strong light in his face" (p. 292, l. 9)
• The protagonist still dreams a lot, especially about Julia and his mother. This testifies that despite brainwashing, he has not yet completely erased his memory. Winston spends most of his time lying in bed, and he feels very listless overall
• However, Winston then starts to put on weight and do sports, which makes him successively stronger, and he even is "proud of his body" (p. 293, l. 8)
• Winston realises that he had been watched by the "Thought Police" (p. 5, l. 4) all those years before his arrest. He begins to believe more and more, as a result of the brainwashing, that the party is in the right and he was in the wrong
• Deep down, however, Winston cannot put aside his hatred of "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22) and takes comfort in being able to take his hatred of the "Ingsoc" (p. 4. l. 25 f.) party with him to his death
• To the outside world, Winston keeps up the pretence that the brainwashing is working on him. For example, he preserves this semblance by learning the party's slogans by heart and trying to internalise them
• At the same time, he realises that his life could be taken away from him any day
• In one of his dreams, Winston screams Julia's name again. When O'Brien appears in his cell, Winston confesses that he hates "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22). O'Brien then has Winston taken to "Room 101" (p. 276, l. 27) so that he can learn to love "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22)